Just asking because I read that trauma (flight/fight) has a way of shutting down the various systems in order to have enough energy to run and leaves little in terms of say - the GI tract and digestion (among others). My digestion is bad. I have had a long history of eating disorders that have resolved themselves but I still have the issue of not chewing well and not digestion my food well - so I have all sorts of ailiments attached to that.
How is your stomach doing?
Hi-
Yes, I think the flight/fight takes its toll upon digestion. I have poor digestion and also tend to have IBS, but recently that has improved due in part to starting Enbrel for psoriasis.
Here's hoping your digestion improves.
I vaguely remember reading something about how some people are hyperreactive or something. Like, their fight/flight response is more jacked up. I read it after I was told I had a murmur and they don't know why (I don't have insurance so I didn't go to the cardiologist) and I did a google search. I can imagine that might explain a lot of other digestive things. I am a mess in that area. I'd write a list of my problems but it's long and typical. I do have difficulty chewing and swallowing but I suspect it might have to do with mild tardive dyskinesia which gets worse with stress. I binge sometimes and obviously have no trouble chewing and swallowing when that happens.
Yep
Suffered constipation since being a child - ibs as an adult and
Eating disorder throughout
Not chewing properly seems linked to my ed and I can't get it in fast enough
I practice mindfulness around my eating to aid slowing it down and drink lots of water
Lots of vegetables - no
Wheat or sugar and a balanced good diet -
How about blending some of the food into soup or smoothie ?
Interesting!
I have also been very constipated always (and sometimes the reverse on the other extreme).
I eat really fast for some reason related to anxiety and I don't really make great choices because I'm impulsive. That might cause problems.
tired: Same for me too, I have been eating really fast as long as I can remember.
This makes me think of one time when I was a child and my family were having dinner, we were all eating a sort of crispy bread at the same time and it became so clear that I was chewing really fast compared to the others. (Which they of course had to point out to me).
I also eat fast but only just noticed this last few months. Wonder why we do that? Dont chew my food properly. If i do, i quickly go off my food for some reason.
Also have ibs and chronic constipation for yrs. My stomach is also swollen a lot of the time i look pregnant. Weird how we all have these symptoms. ..
Never thought to associate the two, but:
I was diagnosed IBS in my early 20's. Prone to diarrhea with that IBS. I don't eat very fast, but that was through effort in my 30's. I usually chew my food well, but sometimes get 'lazy' or in a hurry (if I take so long to eat dinner that H has finished, smoked his cigarette and left the table). If I have ANY stress at ALL, my IBS flares and my abdomen hurts. I'm more freeze/fawn.
Husband (also c-PTSD) has chronic heartburn. EVERYTHING gives him heartburn, medicines help, but not much. After all the reports in the news I'm glad he didn't take them often. Also, he eats like its a race! I don't point it out anymore, but I used to. He has false teeth so chewing is an issue. He's more fight/flight.
Since writing last Septmber, my IBS has returned. I was told by an assistant at the demotologist office to wean myself off Enbrel as it was not good to be on it forever. I began injecting only every other week for a month and the IBS returned. I got the ok from the dermatologist to go back to every week injections, but my issues continue. I think the fear involved in cutting back the dosage triggered other things. So, I am hoping for remission again. I continue to run (and to be sure I know where bathrooms are) and am working on self assertiveness in general. I don't want to be a slave to my frightened inner child, and I know I must give her support while defeating the inner critic.
I'm in this club too. I have a bunch of complicating factors including difficulties chewing. I am a very slow eater though and usually try to chew well. I seem to alternate between constipation and diarrhoea and rarely am normal because I'm rarely not stressed. I also have to strain no matter which end of the spectrum I am on. I eat mostly vegetarian and get lots of fibre but need to lower my cholesterol. Haven't been diagnosed with anything. Overall I am managing ok but I do like to know where bathrooms are too, just in case.
I find if I do enough meditation / exercise / relaxation I open my bowels ...
It's the 'holding on ' right ? Holding it in ...
Massaging the bowel / stomach area can help too ( go around with the hand in clockwise direction
Recently I am now suffering with acid at top of the stomach ( so uncomfortable ) it started with the stress when I came off anti dep ...
Oh our poor tummies
I've always wanted to have colonic irrigation it's suppose to feel amazing afterwards I hear ....
I used to sit on the toilet for what felt like hours when I was a little girl mind you I spend a fair bit of time there now ...
I use aloe Vera Colon cleanse tablets ( they are very good and I don't get stomach ache from them
I'm so glad we can share on this it's important hey :)
EF triggered diarrhea this very morning!
The sympathetic nervous system is activated when we have an EF and our subsequent 4F response. The opposing parasympathetic NS is responsible for rest and digestion, which shuts off. So it makes sense that we all have these experiences, not fun though :(
I've been applying mindfulness in as many instances as I can, especially looking for my triggers. I realized that sitting at a table...a dining table specifically...with others, triggers me like crazy. I've had EFs on a date with my husband, poor guy....didn't do anything wrong. I just hate...HATE dining with others. Due to my stressful childhood. So I have difficulty with food in terms of that.
Also, my convert narc mom guilt-ed me to no end about having to do ANYTHING for me. So when she would cook home made meals I felt horrible eating them. I noticed that I can eat frozen, processed foods quite easily but even when I cook myself a home made meal, I get very stressed and nauseous eating it. So the trauma of her shaming me has definitely affected my digestion. Lame.
i'm with the rest of you with ibs, alternating diarrhea and constipation. it just sucks. since eating lots more veggies, the constipation is very rare now, but stress will trigger the diarrhea usually the same day. it just sucks! have had more than my share of accidents! yuck!
i've also read that chronic stress will cause the eventual shutting down of systems in their order to importance to survival, which is why our gastrointestinal system is often the first to go wonky. it gets wearing.
Quote from: sanmagic7 on August 23, 2016, 12:14:20 PM
i'm with the rest of you with ibs, alternating diarrhea and constipation.
Me too. From what I understand, as a "freeze" type during my abusive years, my digestive system would freeze too. I was constipated for years. But in recent years, I've had the opposite problem. I now eat gluten-free, low sugar, adequate fiber, and minimal dairy, and that seems to keep me going good. Just recently, I noticed that after a flashback I don't have much of an appetite, and I crave foods that were comforting to me as a child.
I straight up have Chron's disease that has almost claimed my life. Yeeaaaahhhh... Anxiety makes it worse, depression makes it worse, CPTSD makes it horrible sometimes. I just had bowel resection surgery, and I take a chemotherapy called Remicade.
This is so interesting. I also eat really quickly and have most of my life. (I wonder if that has anything to do with the fact that family dinners could be dreadful growing up. some of the worst psychological abuse I experienced growing up was at the dinner table.) Also the diarrhea thing, whenever I get anxious for very long.
Same. I too, have digestive problems.
I wonder what percentage of ppl with PTSD (or any emotional struggles) do NOT have digestive issues. My guess is that it is relatively low. After all, there is a significant relationship between our brain and our gut. They share a lot of the same tissues and 90% of our serotonin is produced in our gut compared to only 10% in our brain. Or so I have read! But it would make sense why we have so many gastrointestinal dysfunctions.
Last week, I started reading Childhood Disrupted: How Your Biography Becomes Your Biology, and How You Can Heal by Donna Jackson Nakazawa. She writes that "more than half of women suffering from irritable bowel syndrome report childhood trauma."
I have had digestion issues as far as I can recall. Mostly constipation and the occasional killer stomach cramps followed by terrible diarrhea. I have had a colonoscopy to check everything out and all is good. I myself eat slowly, I tend to be the last one up from the table. I believe my digestion is extremely slow as I feel uncomfortably full even an hour or so after eating. I am lucky if I have 2 BMs a week.
Im exactly the same chaoticharmony, chronic constipation (i havnt been for 10 days now) then i get really bad cramps that make me sweat and feels like going into shock , then i get diarrhoea. Also feel bloated. Big belly. Been feeling quite ill these last few days no doubt due to not being able to go.
one of the things i used to tell people is to 'go with your gut', because i always believed that the gut is the one place that we could trust for messages on how we should proceed, which direction to take, etc. i've had ibs, both ways, for over 20 yrs., altho it usually takes the form of the runs. emptying everything out, sometimes violently.
as i've been working on my inner child stuff, i came to a point the other day where i was in a struggle between my inner child (my gut, which wants the best for me) and my inner critic (basically my dad, who wanted perfection from me). i realized that my gut is where the battle takes place between the two, and no wonder i have digestive problems!
this was an eye-opener for me. i'll be keeping this in mind as i continue tackling these issues, and hopefully healing from them. i do have hope that i will become more regular in the future. wouldn't that be wonderful!!!
My stomach is such a mess! I was diagnosed with GERD, but the weight I gained back from my struggle with anorexia really put my gut in a serious bind.
Eating disorders...not even once.
Emotional upset and stress always triggers a nervous digestive system in me. Calmer days and I can be fine but any upset and im a mess.
My digestion got so bad a few years ago, I could hardly keep any food inside me, and I became drained which exacerbated the sensitivity of my nervous system - already easily tipped into F/F/F. I would nibble on high sugar snacks to try and keep going at work (and work was full of triggers which didn't help). It was always so embarrassing and horrible having to keep rushing off to the loo. I only found out by chance that I had lost a number of enzymes in my stomach (you need enzymes to break down and absorb the nutrients). Shortly before that, by coincidence, I had stumbled upon liquid enzymes that are aimed at sports people, and the supplement helped. When I was officially diagnosed, I was prescribed homeopathic remedies to restore my own natural enzymes - and amazingly, it worked! I feel so blessed.........